JR wrote:Alex Pietrangelo is here to stay, but it’s not guaranteed he will stay.

The rookie defenseman played his ninth NHL game of the season Thursday night against Phoenix. It’s been written many times, but I’ll mention it again, if Pietrangelo plays his 10th game on Saturday night or whenever, it will count as a full year toward the Blues owning his rights.

What that means is this: When an NHL team drafts a player, that club owns his rights for seven years. When he plays his 10th game in one season, the clock starts on those seven years. It may not seem like a big deal now, but in 2016, when Pietrangelo is 26, the difference of him becoming a restricted free agent or an unrestricted free agent is a big difference.

I mentioned in my Blues’ chat Thursday that the team would likely issue a press release following Pietrangelo’s ninth game, acknowledging that he is staying. That will NOT happen.

The Blues are not going to make an announcement, and here’s the reason: Pietrangelo will stay with the team and he is expected to exceed nine games and probably stay for the year, but there’s still a chance (albeit a small chance) that the Blues could send him back to juniors at any time . . . after 15 games, 30 games, 45 games.

The Blues’ position is that they don’t want to make an announcement saying that Pietrangelo is staying for the year and then have to send him back for WHATEVER reason.

The club realizes that the clock will start on Pietrangelo, and it would be viewed as an unwise decision to waste a year by sending him back to juniors, but that’s the window the Blues are leaving themselves.

(For those who are wondering, Pietrangelo can not play in Peoria this season until his junior season with the Niagara Ice Dogs is completed. That is a rule that protects junior teams from having NHL clubs stash their players away in the minors).

My take: I understand that NHL teams don’t want players to get too comfortable. But I think Pietrangelo has shown enough maturity and dedication over the past summer that he wouldn’t slack off if he were told that he was staying in St. Louis for the entire season. In fact, Pietrangelo would probably benefit from being off probation. That’s basically what it is . . . probation. Since last September, he has been living in a suitcase, not knowing where he would be the next week.

The Blues have every intention in keeping him in St. Louis all year. Perhaps their motivation for not making it official has nothing to do with whether Pietrangelo would get too comfortable. Perhaps they’re staying mum because they don’t know if their defensive depth will stay healthy, or if they’ll be able to trade some of that depth. If those are the reasons for staying quiet, that’s understandable.

I think Pittsburgh could use some Defense men. Maybe we can get some one from them.

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I think they need to trade a dman for a forward, and open up the logjam a bit.

I say we trade a couple dmen (Brewer, Jackman) for a forward, doubt we get much though.

Also, in reference to the article, how bad would Petro have to play for them to send him back down to juniors after 45 games? Especially, considering how bad Brewer plays most of the time.

I agree. Time to make some room. A good problem to have.My only problem with Petro is that he doesn't always seem to have the passion or drive to push it or to get involved. Hopefully he can get a little more 'swag' into his game. He needs a dose of Perron.

I think they need to trade a dman for a forward, and open up the logjam a bit.

I say we trade a couple dmen (Brewer, Jackman) for a forward, doubt we get much though.

Also, in reference to the article, how bad would Petro have to play for them to send him back down to juniors after 45 games? Especially, considering how bad Brewer plays most of the time.

I agree. Time to make some room. A good problem to have.My only problem with Petro is that he doesn't always seem to have the passion or drive to push it or to get involved. Hopefully he can get a little more 'swag' into his game. He needs a dose of Perron.

It's hard to stay motivated when you don't play. Especially when you don't play ahead of some idiot who means you're already starting the game down 1 goal. Yes, that's what Brewer playing means. Any time he starts, the Blues are down 1-0 before the puck drops. And, I don't care if it's bashing. It's true.

I think they need to trade a dman for a forward, and open up the logjam a bit.

I say we trade a couple dmen (Brewer, Jackman) for a forward, doubt we get much though.

Also, in reference to the article, how bad would Petro have to play for them to send him back down to juniors after 45 games? Especially, considering how bad Brewer plays most of the time.

I agree. Time to make some room. A good problem to have.My only problem with Petro is that he doesn't always seem to have the passion or drive to push it or to get involved. Hopefully he can get a little more 'swag' into his game. He needs a dose of Perron.

It's hard to stay motivated when you don't play. Especially when you don't play ahead of some idiot who means you're already starting the game down 1 goal. Yes, that's what Brewer playing means. Any time he starts, the Blues are down 1-0 before the puck drops. And, I don't care if it's bashing. It's true.

It might be also worth mentioning that Pie is only 19 years old...He's a kid out there. He's bound to make a few mistakes but he's got to play to get through them. They can't keep benching him. This is where I really disagree with how Murray handles things.

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I think they need to trade a dman for a forward, and open up the logjam a bit.

I say we trade a couple dmen (Brewer, Jackman) for a forward, doubt we get much though.

Also, in reference to the article, how bad would Petro have to play for them to send him back down to juniors after 45 games? Especially, considering how bad Brewer plays most of the time.

I agree. Time to make some room. A good problem to have.My only problem with Petro is that he doesn't always seem to have the passion or drive to push it or to get involved. Hopefully he can get a little more 'swag' into his game. He needs a dose of Perron.

It's hard to stay motivated when you don't play. Especially when you don't play ahead of some idiot who means you're already starting the game down 1 goal. Yes, that's what Brewer playing means. Any time he starts, the Blues are down 1-0 before the puck drops. And, I don't care if it's bashing. It's true.

Hard to stay motivated when you don't play? If anything, you should be more motivated...especially when you are starting your career.

And really, I'm talking about physicality and pushing the puck. Petro needs to get involved. He did great against Phx, but in other games, he shies from the rough stuff. I hope he plays more, because he has the talent and vision. He'll get there and it seems he'll get the chance, which is great.

I think they need to trade a dman for a forward, and open up the logjam a bit.

I say we trade a couple dmen (Brewer, Jackman) for a forward, doubt we get much though.

Also, in reference to the article, how bad would Petro have to play for them to send him back down to juniors after 45 games? Especially, considering how bad Brewer plays most of the time.

I agree. Time to make some room. A good problem to have.My only problem with Petro is that he doesn't always seem to have the passion or drive to push it or to get involved. Hopefully he can get a little more 'swag' into his game. He needs a dose of Perron.

It's hard to stay motivated when you don't play. Especially when you don't play ahead of some idiot who means you're already starting the game down 1 goal. Yes, that's what Brewer playing means. Any time he starts, the Blues are down 1-0 before the puck drops. And, I don't care if it's bashing. It's true.

It might be also worth mentioning that Pie is only 19 years old...He's a kid out there. He's bound to make a few mistakes but he's got to play to get through them. They can't keep benching him. This is where I really disagree with how Murray handles things.

Problem is if kids make mistakes, will that keep them from making the playoffs? This is Murray's problem. Granted, the organization needs to make a decision and go with it. Because right now THIS is not working. And it's probably because Murray can't find that balance.

The thing with Alex is his defensive blunders will be offset by his offensive ability. That's more than you can say about half of the defensemen on this team. If Brewer, Jackman, Polak, or Weaver make a mistake, that mistake won't be erased by some nice offensive play later in the game. At least Alex has that going for him (along with Johnson and Cola). I want Alex to make mistakes. If he's not making mistakes, that means he's not pushing the boundaries and trying to make things happen. He'll learn a lot faster that way. I only wish that Murray saw it that way, too. I'd play timid (which describes Alex's play at times), too, if I was afraid that Murray would ship me back to Niagara for making a couple of bad passes.

Sweetred95ta wrote:The thing with Alex is his defensive blunders will be offset by his offensive ability. That's more than you can say about half of the defensemen in this league. If Brewer, Jackman, Polak, or Weaver make a mistake, that mistake won't be erased by some nice offensive play later in the game. At least Alex has that going for him (along with Johnson and Cola). I want Alex to make mistakes. If he's not making mistakes, that means he's not pushing the boundaries and trying to make things happen. He'll learn a lot faster that way. I only wish that Murray saw it that way, too. I'd play timid (which describes Alex's play at times), too, if I was afraid that Murray would ship me back to Niagara for making a couple of bad passes.